Sunday, August 9, 2009

The "dog days" of summer are finally here. Although we've been blessed with an unusually cool summer so far, last weekend we were blasted with a warm front pushing a 100 degree sauna our way with thunderstorms close behind. So, what better way to celebrate than by spending the weekend outdoors at the Fremont Lakes?

Vivian and I went to Fremont Lakes last September, but we didn't get to do much swimming (especially with the cold fall winds that came roaring through our campsite overnight). This year, however, a three-hour dip in the water was more than appropriate. The water in the lake seemed to be about forty degrees colder just a few feet below the surface, down where the gooey algae and tangling weeds like to live. We played some "Monkey in the Middle" and spent some quality time dunking each other in the water while keeping cool.

Back at the campsite, we put together some burgers, hot dogs, and baked potatoes for dinner over the campfire while others of us played Monkey Golf. We ate and told some more ridiculous progressive ghost stories (involving Michael Jackson, of all people) as the sun went down and the moon came up. We toasted some marshmallows and then wound up playing Catchphrase until nearly midnight, taking a sip of the World's Worst Bottle of Rum before going to bed.

We were in for a surprise the next morning: a series of scattered showers roared into our next to woods. The forecast called for a 30% chance of precipitation, so I suppose we can only blame ourselves of playing their odds. The rain let up long enough for us to have some yummy Jenny muffins for breakfast before heading back to Omaha.

Lindy in the Park was still on for the afternoon, of course, so Vivian and I went on down for some outdoor dancing. The rain had let up just a bit, but it started up again toward the end of our dance. It was the first time I'd seen rain at Lindy in the Park, and it was actually very cool to have thunder and lightning accompany our Lindy Hop.